Rivervale Fire Caused By Charging PMD Battery, 3 Residents Conveyed To Hospital

Charging PMD Battery Causes Rivervale Crescent HDB Unit To Catch Fire

Fires resulting from Personal Mobility Devices (PMD) have become common in Singapore.

One such incident occurred last night (14 Sep) at Rivervale Crescent, according to a Facebook post by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

They identified the cause to be a charging PMD battery which they had found in a bedroom.

SCDF alerted to fire at Rivervale Crescent

On Tuesday (14 Sep) night, the SCDF shared that they were alerted to a fire at Block 185C Rivervale Crescent at 9pm.

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The fire had apparently been raging in a 3rd-floor unit for a while before the SCDF arrived.

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Thankfully, 3 occupants from the unit had already evacuated themselves.

Before entering the unit to put out the fire, firefighters had to don breathing apparatus sets. They eventually managed to extinguish the flames with only 1 water jet.

They reported that the fire mainly involved the contents of a bedroom in the HDB unit.

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As a precautionary measure, the SCDF also evacuated 10 residents from the neighbouring units.

As for the affected unit’s occupants, 2 were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital while another to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation and/or burn injuries.

SCDF traces cause of fire at Rivervale Crescent to PMD battery

Preliminary investigations led the SCDF to discover that the fire was of electrical origin. Specifically, they found that a charging PMD battery had been the likely cause of the fire.

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Due to the fire, most of the items in the bedroom were almost completely charred.

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The ceiling and walls of the rest of the unit were also damaged from the heat and soot.

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Since this is not the first incident of a PMD-related fire, the SCDF reminded the public of important safety tips for their power-assisted vehicles.

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Handle your PMD with care

Thankfully, this incident did not result in any serious injuries or fatalities.

Nevertheless, we hope it serves as an important reminder for PMD owners to handle their devices and vehicles with care, in compliance with safety rules.

As for the occupants of the affected unit, we wish them a smooth recovery.

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Featured image adapted from Singapore Civil Defence Force on Facebook.